York Hospital works to raise awareness of strokes

YORK, Maine — Lorraine Deheulle of York has a family history of high blood pressure, but she had been taking medication. She also took good care of herself, exercised regularly and ate properly. So she was unprepared when she had a stroke.

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By Deborah McDermott

seacoastonline.com

By Deborah McDermott

Posted May. 19, 2010 at 2:00 AM

By Deborah McDermott

Posted May. 19, 2010 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

YORK, Maine — Lorraine Deheulle of York has a family history of high blood pressure, but she had been taking medication. She also took good care of herself, exercised regularly and ate properly. So she was unprepared when she had a stroke.

In Deheulle's case, her brain hemorrhaged, one of two types of stroke. The other way is when a blood clot obstructs the flow of blood to the brain.

"I bent over to put a sheet on a bed, and I got a pain above the right ear," Deheulle said. By the time her husband brought her to the emergency room, she was paralyzed on her right side.

Deheulle was one of dozens of local residents who joined the staff at York Hospital at a Stroke Awareness Day on the hospital grounds. The event was put on by the hospital's stroke care team, a group of emergency center doctors, the staff neurologist, as well as nurses and therapists who provide care for stroke victims. It was intended for the public, but also for other hospital employees who might not have a full understanding of how strokes occur.

A number of booths were set up with information that explained the steps a stroke patient might go through, from prevention, to stroke recognition signs, to emergency room and hospital admittance, rehabilitation and home care.

Therapist Coralee Thomson, who led the event, said many strokes are preventable. People who are obese, who smoke, who don't properly manage diabetes or high blood pressure, or who are on hormone replacement therapy are among those at risk.

Thomson encouraged people to become familiar with the signs of stroke, such as numbness of the face, slurred speech or blurred vision.

"People do better if (the stroke is) identified sooner," she said.

Thomson said it's a common misconception that only older people have strokes. In fact, it's not uncommon in people ages 30 and older.

At York Hospital, she said, it's not unusual for the staff to see 12-20 people a month who have had a stroke or a transient ischemic attack, a mini-stroke.

York Hospital recently entered into an agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital for care of stroke victims. The emergency room staff and neurologist have access to a Mass General stroke specialist 24 hours a day. Consultation is via television.

If a patient needs to be taken to Boston, "the docs down there already know the patient," said York Hospital President Jud Knox.

Knox credited Thomson and the rest of the stroke team for putting on an event of real use to community members and hospital staff. "They really do great work, and it's nice to recognize them," he said.

Deheulle said, in the aftermath of her stroke seven years ago, she can't open up one of her hands all the way and she has to wear a leg brace.

"I miss my high heels," she said with a laugh. "But that's a small price to pay for being alive."